Mike Pence on Jobs

Indiana's unemployment rate was cut in half since 2013

Pence asserted, "In the state of Indiana, we've cut unemployment in half; unemployment doubled when [Kaine] was governor." Are both true?

Fact Check: While the claim is factual, Kaine's gubernatorial tenure ended in 2010 (the year when
the national unemployment rate peaked) and Pence's gubernatorial tenure began in 2013 (i.e., more than 2 years after the Great Recession officially ended and the national economy was expanding).

Source: FactCheck.org on 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate
, Oct 4, 2016

Blocked statewide & local minimum wage increase

Pence signed a law capping Indiana minimum wage and employee benefits. In 2013, Pence mustered Republican State House opposition to a proposal that would have increased Indiana's minimum wage to
$8.25 per hour despite national support for raising the wage to $9. According to The Times of Northwest Indiana,
Pence had previously signed legislation "prohibit[ing] local governments from requiring businesses [to] pay a higher minimum wage, or offer any working condition or benefit, such as paid sick leave, if it's not mandated by state or federal law."
On May 6, 2015, Pence continued his campaign against living wages by repealing a law guaranteeing that "prevailing wages" be paid to workers on publicly funded construction projects. [The Times of Northwest Indiana, 11/12/13, 5/6/15]

Defended Indiana's "Right-To-Work" law

On Feb. 1, 2012, Indiana set off a cascade of union-busting legislation from Republican statehouses in the Midwest when it became the first state in more than a decade, and 23rd state overall, to enact a so-called "right-to-work" law. The law, barring
union contracts from requiring that non-union members pay representation fees, was signed by outgoing Gov. Mitch Daniels, and created a template for future GOP-led attacks on unions in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In separate rulings delivered in
Sept. 2013 and July 2014, two judges in Lake County, IN, concluded that the legislation violated "the state constitution's guarantee of compensation for services." Stating unequivocally that "Indiana is a right-to-work state," Gov. Mike Pence appealed
the ruling to the state's Supreme Court and won a unanimous decision upholding the law in November 2014. [AFL-CIO, 1/19/12; The New York Times, 2/1/12; The Times of Northwest Indiana, 7/25/14, 8/22/14; Courthouse News Service, 11/10/14].

Education is critical to our success in job creation

Our nation is experiencing the highest unemployment rate among teenagers and young adults in American history. When we look at our workforce and ways to improve it, we must begin & end with education. From pre-K to high school & beyond, a young person's
learning makes the difference between graduation and a constant game of catch-up throughout their lives.

The Jobs for America's Graduates program fully understands this importance and has one of the highest impacts of improving employment of any
program assessed. The very first policy goal we announced was to reprioritize career, technical and vocational education in every high school in Indiana.

My job as Governor is to help make Indiana such a great place that you wouldn't think of going
any place else. So how do we do that? We start by creating good jobs and by recognizing that education is critical to our success in job creation. Strong schools help companies attract talented employees and develop the quality employees of the future.

Source: Speech at Jobs for America's Graduates event
, Mar 14, 2014

$700B stimulus did not deliver promised employment

Rep. PENCE: Your administration told us that we'd have to borrow more than $700 billion to pay for a so-called stimulus bill. It was a piecemeal list of projects and boutique tax cuts, all of which--we were told--had to be passed or unemployment would
go to 8%, as your administration said. Well, unemployment is 10% now.

Pres. OBAMA: You're absolutely right that when I was sworn in the hope was that unemployment would remain around 8%.
What ended up happening was that the job losses from this recession proved to be much more severe than anybody anticipated. We underestimated how severe the job losses were going to be. But those job losses took place before any stimulus, whether it
was the ones that you guys have proposed or the ones that we proposed, could have ever taken into effect. Now, that's just the fact, Mike, and I don't think anybody would dispute that. You could not find an economist who would dispute that.

Congressional Summary:Revises the formula for Tier-1 amounts a state credits to an applicant's emergency unemployment compensation account. Increases the figures in the formula from 50% to 80% of the total amount of regular compensation ; and from 13 to 20 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:

Rep. CHARLES RANGEL (D, NY-15): The House, for weeks, has attempted to save the free world from a fiscal disaster. We have bailed out the banks and those who held mortgages. At the same time, we provided for energy extensions, we provided tax breaks for those people that tax provisions have expired. We provided for hurricane relief, for mental health. So over $1 trillion is out there for this House to ease the pain of millions of Americans.

While we were dealing with these gigantic powers, we overlooked the fact that over the last 12 months the number of unemployed workers has jumped by over 2 million, leaving
10 million Americans struggling for work. These are hardworking people that have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

Rep. JERRY WELLER (R, IL-11): This important legislation provides additional needed assistance to the long-term unemployed. It's important that we pass this legislation today as our last act before we leave for the election campaign.

This legislation focuses the most additional benefits on workers and States where the unemployment rate is highest and where jobs are hardest to find. This program continues the requirement that those benefiting from extended unemployment benefits had to have worked at least 20 weeks. Americans were rightly concerned about proposals to eliminate that work requirement and allow 39 weeks or, under the legislation before us today, as many as 59 weeks of total unemployment benefits to be paid to those who have previously only worked for a few weeks.

Voted NO on overriding presidential veto of Farm Bill.

OnTheIssues.org Explanation: This bill was vetoed twice! Congress passed an identical bill in May, which Pres. Bush vetoed. Congress then discovered that a clerical error. A replacement bill was passed; then vetoed again by the President; and this is its "final" veto override.

Congressional Summary: Provides for the continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through FY2012. Revises agricultural and related programs, including provisions respecting:

commodity programs;

conservation;

trade;

nutrition;

credit;

rural development;

research and related matters;

forestry;

energy;

horticulture and organic agriculture;

livestock;

crop insurance and disaster assistance;

socially disadvantaged and limited resource producers; and

miscellaneous programs.

President's veto message: I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 6124. The bill that I vetoed on May 21, 2008,
H.R. 2419, did not include the title III (trade) provisions that are in this bill. In passing H.R. 6124, the Congress had an opportunity to improve on H.R. 2419 by modifying certain objectionable, onerous, and fiscally imprudent provisions [but did not].

This bill lacks fiscal discipline. It continues subsidies for the wealthy and increases farm bill spending by more than $20 billion, while using budget gimmicks to hide much of the increase. It is inconsistent with our trade objectives of securing greater market access for American farmers. [Hence] I must veto H.R. 6124.

Proponents argument for voting YEA: We had a meeting this morning with the Secretary of Agriculture to talk about implementation. So [despite the two vetoes], the work has been going on within the department of agriculture to get ready for implementation.

This is a good bill. It has wide support in the Congress. It does address all of the issues that have been brought to the Agriculture Committee.

Voted NO on restricting employer interference in union organizing.

To enable employees to form & join labor organizations, and to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts. Requires investigation that an employer:

discharged or discriminated against an employee to discourage membership in a labor organization;

threatened to discharge employees in the exercise of guaranteed collective bargaining rights; and

adds to remedies for such violations: back pay plus liquidated damages; and additional civil penalties.

Proponents support voting YES because:

The principle at stake here is the freedom that all workers should have to organize for better working conditions & fair wages. There are many employers around the country who honor this freedom. Unfortunately, there are also many employers who do not. These employers attempt to prevent workers from unionizing by using tactics that amount to harassment, if not outright firing. In fact, one in five people who try to organize
unions are fired. These tactics are already illegal, but the penalties are so minor, they are not effective deterrents.

Opponents support voting NO because:

Democracy itself is placed at risk by this bill. The sanctity of the secret ballot is the backbone of our democratic process. Not one voter signed a card to send us here to Congress. None of us sent our campaign workers out to voters' houses armed with candidate information & a stack of authorization cards. No. We trusted democracy. We trusted the voters to cast their ballots like adults, freely, openly, without intimidation, and we live with the results. But here we are, poised to advance legislation to kill a secret ballot process.

Let's be clear. Every American has the right to organize. No one is debating that. This is a right we believe in so strongly we have codified it and made it possible for workers to do so through a secret ballot.

We have waited for over 10 years to have a clean vote on the minimum wage for the poorest workers in this country Low-wage workers had their wages frozen in time, from 10 years ago, but when they go to the supermarket, the food prices are higher; when they put gasoline in the car, the gasoline prices are higher; when they pay the utility bills, the utility bills are higher; when their kids get sick, the medical bills are higher. All of those things are higher. They are living in 2007, but in their wages they are living in 1997.

Opponents support voting NO because:

This bill is marked more by what is not in the bill than what is in it. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. They create two-thirds of our Nation's new jobs, and they represent 98% of the new businesses in the US. What protection does this bill provide them? None whatsoever.

We can do better. In the interest of sending the President a final measure that provides consideration for small businesses and their workers, the very men and women who are responsible for our economy's recent growth and strength, we must do better.

Voted YES on end offshore tax havens and promote small business.

American Jobs Creation Act of 2004: <0l>

Repeal the tax exclusion for extraterritorial income - Permits foreign corporations to revoke elections to be treated as U.S. corporations Business Tax Incentives - Small Business ExpensingTax Relief for Agriculture and Small Manufacturers

Tax Reform and Simplification for United States Businesses

Deduction of State and Local General Sales Taxes

Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform

Provisions to Reduce Tax Avoidance Through Individual and Corporation Expatriation

Voted YES on $167B over 10 years for farm price supports.

Vote to authorize $167 billion over ten years for farm price supports, food aid and rural development. Payments would be made on a countercyclical program, meaning they would increase as prices dropped. Conservation acreage payments would be retained.

Voted YES on zero-funding OSHA's Ergonomics Rules instead of $4.5B.

Vote to pass a resolution to give no enforcement authority or power to ergonomics rules submitted by the Labor Department during the Clinton Administration. These rules would force businesses to take steps to prevent work-related repetitive stress disorders.

As the federation of America’s unions, the AFL-CIO includes more than 13 million of America’s workers in 60 member unions working in virtually every part of the economy. The mission of the AFL-CIO is to improve the lives of working families to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation. To accomplish this mission we will build and change the American labor movement.

The following ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a public policy organization dedicated to the principles of free markets and limited government, has created a Congressional Labor Scorecard for the 112th Congress focusing on worker issues. The score is determined based on policies that support worker freedom and the elimination of Big Labor's privileges across the country.